Difference between Forwards and Futures
Forwards:
A forward contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a specified point of time in the future. This is a pure over-the-counter (OTC) contract since its details are settled privately between the two counterparties. When issuing a forward contract, the price agreed to buy the asset at maturity is called the strike price. Trading in forwards can be for speculative purposes: (1) the buyer believes the price of the asset will increase from the trade date until the maturity date; (2) the seller thinks the value of the asset will appreciate and enters into a forward agreement to avoid this scenario. Additionally, forward contracts can serve as hedging instruments.
Generally, the strike price is equal to the fair value of the forward price at the issue date. This implies that forward contracts are usually arranged to have zero mark-to-market value at inception, although they may be off-market. Examples include forward foreign exchange contracts in which one party is obligated to buy foreign exchange from another party at a fixed rate for delivery on a preset date. In order to price a forward contract on a single asset, one should discount the difference between the forward price and the strike price. Assuming that Ft(T ) is the theoretical forward price of the asset, the value at time t of the forward contract
12 Exotic Options and Hybrids
Forwardt(T ) is computed as follows:
Forwardt(T ) = (Ft(T ) − K) × e−r×(T−t)
The main advantage of forwards is that they offer a high degree of flexibility to both parties involved, allowing them to set any contract specifications as long as they are mutually accepted. This is due to the fact that forward contracts trade in OTC markets and are not standardized contracts. Besides, it is important to note that a forward contract is an obligation and not an option to buy/sell the asset at maturity. However, the risk remains that one party does not meet its obligations and can default. This risk, called the counterparty risk, is the main disadvantage encountered in trading forwards.
Exercise:
Suppose that John believes the stock price of Vodafone will appreciate consistently over the course of a year. Assume that Vodafone is worth £80 and the 1-year LIBOR rate r is equal to 6%. Also, the dividend yield q is equal to 2% and the borrowing costs are null. John decides to enter into a 1-year forward contract allowing him to buy 1,000 shares of Vodafone in one year at a strike price of £82. After one year, Vodafone’s spot price is equal to £86. Did John realize a profit from this transaction?
Discussion
First of all it is interesting to compute the theoretical value of the 1-year forward price F0 of = 80 × e(6%−2%)×1 Vodafone that is given by F0 = £83.30. As the theoretical forward price is higher than the strike price K, John has to pay a premium Forward price for the forward contract that is equal to the number of shares times the present value of the difference between the forward price and the strike price, as follows:
Forward price = 1, 000 × (F0 − K) × e−r T = 1, 000 × (83.30 − 82) × e−5%×1 = £1,224.00
At the end of the year, the forward contract entitles John to receive 1,000 shares of Vodafone at £82 with a market value equal to £86. Therefore, John makes a profit equal to 1, 000 × (86 − 82) = £4, 000 knowing that he paid £1,224 as a forward contract premium.
Futures :
A futures contract is an exchange-traded contract in which the holder has the obligation to buy an asset on a future date, referred to as the final settlement date, at a market-determined price called the futures price. The price of the asset on the final settlement date is called the settlement price. The contract specifications, including the quantity and quality of the asset as well as the time and place of delivery, are determined by the relevant exchange. The asset is most often a commodity, a stock or an index. Stock market index futures are popular because they can be used for hedging against an existing equity position, or speculating on future movements of the asset.
Futures constitute a safer investment since the counterparty risk is (almost) totally eliminated. Indeed, the clearing house acts as a central counterparty between the buyer and the seller and also provides a mechanism of settlement based on margin calls. Futures are marked-to market (MTM) on a daily basis to the new futures price. This rebalancing mechanism forces the holders to update daily to an equivalent forward purchased that day. On the other hand, the benefits of having such standardized contracts are slightly offset by the lack of flexibility that one has when setting the terms of an OTC forward contract. The futures contract is marked to-market on a daily basis, and if the margin paid to the exchange drops below the margin maintenance required by the exchange, then a margin call will be issued and a payment made to keep the account at the required level. Margin payments offset some of the exchange’s risk to a customer’s default.
The quoted price of a futures contract is the futures price itself. The fair value of a future is equal to the cash price of the asset (the spot value of the asset) plus the costs of carry (the cost of holding the asset until the delivery date minus any income). When computing the fair value of futures on commodity, one should take into account the interest rates as well as storage and insurance fees to estimate the costs of carry.
As long as the deliverable asset is not in short supply, one may apply arbitrage arguments to determine the price of a future. When a futures contract trades above its fair value, a cash and carry arbitrage opportunity arises. The arbitrageur would immediately buy the asset at the spot price to hold it until the settlement date, and at the same time sell the future at the market’s futures price. At the delivery date, he would have made a profit equal to the difference between the market’s futures price and the theoretical fair value. Alternatively, a reverse cash and carry arbitrage opportunity occurs when the future is trading below its fair value. In this case, the arbitrageur makes a risk-free profit by short-selling the asset at the spot price and taking at the same time a long position in a futures contract at the market’s futures price. When the deliverable asset is not in plentiful supply, or has not yet been created (a corn harvest for example), the price of a future is determined by the instantaneous equilibrium between supply and demand for the asset in the future among the market participants who are buying and selling such contracts. The convenience yield is the adjustment to the cost of carry in the non-arbitrage pricing formula for a forward and it accounts for the fact that actually taking physical delivery of the asset is favorable for some investors.